


Go to sleep, Santa isn’t real!

by hilli98215



Series: Cats 2020 Winter Prompts [9]
Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Because I did, They are all siblings, Tumble gets mad at Pounce, family au, prepare to cry, winter au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28019403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hilli98215/pseuds/hilli98215
Summary: Alonzo is enjoying some quiet time when he hears yelling coming from his brothers' room. What he finds makes him have a hard conversation with Tumblebrutus about family and Christmas.
Relationships: Tumblebrutus & Pouncival, Tumblebrutus & Pouncival & Alonzo
Series: Cats 2020 Winter Prompts [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036791
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	Go to sleep, Santa isn’t real!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there. What do I have to say about this story...  
> I wanted to use Pounce and Tumble in a story but I didn't know how to do that. I then saw this prompt and the idea struck. I know there is a headcanon around that Alonzo is their older brother or adoptive older brother. One of those two. I decided to take that headcanon and turn it into a story where they are half brothers. I didn't think much about their past, but you do need to know that Alonzo has custody of his brothers and they have been with him for a few years.   
> However, I didn't realize how much I wanted to cry while writing. It was difficult to write the anger and disappointment these characters would have. But it was a challenge I wanted to take.   
> This is based on the situation where the older sibling tells the younger sibling that Santa is not real.   
> Prompt: Go to sleep, Santa isn’t real!  
> Ages of characters: Tumblebrutus- Age 16, Pouncival- Age 10, Alonzo- Age 24  
> I'm sorry if these ages aren't realistic. I tried.

Alonzo was enjoying himself after a long day. He had his nice hot cup of tea, a book and the fireplace was crackling alive. His brothers were in bed or rather, he hopped in bed. 

But something was amiss when he heard yelling and crying coming from his brothers’ shared bedroom. This was unusual as his brothers are usually quiet and in bed by this time. It was nearly ten PM and they should be sleeping.

He placed his book on the couch and headed toward the boys’ room. As he got closer, the yelling got clearer.

“Tumble you can’t say that!” Pouncival yelled. Alonzo hurried to the room. Something was definitely wrong. His little brother, especially Pounce, never yelled. Never.

He opened the door to find his brothers' red in the face. They were separated but it seemed forced. Like they wanted to fight physically but knew it would make the situation worse. Pounce also had tears running down his face.

Tumblebrutus had his hands clenched into fists and looked like he was failing to calm down.

‘What happened?’ thought Alonzo.

“Oh shut it Pounce! Go to sleep, Santa isn’t real! None of it is real! Stop being so childish!”

That was when Alonzo stepped in, “What is going on here?!”

Pouncival used that as an opportunity to run out of the room, tears running down is his face even more. It was a frightening scene.

Alonzo moved out of the way, with a mix of concern and anger on his face. He faced Tumblebrutus and asked in a stern tone, “What happened?”

Tumble, with his hands still in fists, stared at the floor. “Nothing. Just telling Pounce the truth.”   
“No. Start from the beginning.” He took a seat on Tumble’s bed and motioned for him to sit next to him. 

Tumble sat down and took a deep breath and began telling his older brother the series of events.

“We were going to bed as usual. I was close to falling asleep when Pounce asked me if Santa was real. I said no. Then he kept telling me all the reasons why he could be real. But I still said no. We kept going back and forth. I just wanted to sleep.”

He paused before continuing, “Then he said something about presents and the cookies and the milk. I said that was all you. He just kept talking and talking. I couldn’t take it, and I told him if Santa was real then we would still be with mum.”

By this time, Alonzo could see the problem. “And that’s when I walked in.”

“And that’s when you walked in.” Tumble nodded feeling like he failed as a brother.

Alonzo thought for a moment. How could he fix this?   
“Do you remember the first Christmas you and your brother spent here?” 

Tumble nodded, “Yeah, you made sure we had the full Christmas experience. Even though you knew I hated every minute of it,” he smiled, “But Pounce loved it.”

The smile faded, “We never got to experience that with mum.”

Alonzo grinned and gave Tumble a side hug, “Right. Your mum never gave you the chance to be a child. I was so worried that both of you lost that innocence. But then Pounce seemed so excited when I told him that Santa was coming to give the two of you presents.”

“Yeah, how could I forget?”

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Alonzo broke it, “Are you ready to apologize now, or do you need more time?”

Tumble brought an arm up to wipe the tears that formed in his eyes. “I think I can apologize now. I don’t want Pounce to think I hate or blame him for anything.”

Alonzo stood up and held his hand out for Tumble to take, “Pounce will never hate you Tumble,” his brother took his hand, “he doesn't have a single hate bone in his body.”

Tumblebrutus took the offered hand, “Thank you, Alonzo,” he began to walk out before adding, “and Alonzo.”

He looked up, “Yes?”

Tumble averted his eyes. He couldn’t bear to see the expression on Alonzo’s face. “Thank you for being my brother.”

Alonzo felt his eyes water, “That’s what family is for.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Poor Pounce and Tumble. I want to hug these two and never let go. Good thing they have Alonzo. I might actually write a short second part of this. Maybe with Alonzo talking to Pounce. But I really wanted to capture a specific type of family dynamic. I hope I succeeded.


End file.
